Steel bar penetrating cervical spinal canal without neurological injury: A case report

A 58-year-old male patient was admitted to the emergency department after a steel bar penetrated his neck at a construction site. Computed tomography (CT) demonstrated that the steel bar had penetrated the cervical spinal canal at the C6–7 level, causing fractures. Despite the severity of the injury, the patient returned to a fully functional level without any neurological deficits after surgical removal of the steel bar and postoperative care.

• 1
  The steel bar penetrated the cervical spinal canal at the C6-7 level, resulting in vertebral body and lamina fractures, but without obvious vascular involvement.
• 2
  Surgical removal of the steel bar was successful, and the patient recovered fully without any neurological deficits.
• 3
  Postoperative imaging confirmed the steel bar's trajectory through nearly half of the cervical spinal canal, challenging existing understanding of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.